Come cavolo si fa a resistere a un tigardo (incrocio tigre/leopardo) che è per metà del tempo un gattone troppo cresciuto e per l'altra metà un predatore implacabile? Non si può. E infatti gran parte del merito per la riuscita di questo libro se la prende Wren.

Wren è un Were-Hunter, un mutaforma, non voluto da nessuno e che molti temono per la sua aggressività. Solo che sotto sotto è un gattone bisognoso di coccole. E io adoro i gatti. Quindi non c'è storia: era un personaggio destinato a piacermi.

Altra storia per la controparte femminile, Maggie: nei momenti migliori l'ho percepita insulsa, nei peggiori irritante. In effetti, non si capisce perché un gattone debba per forza innamorarsi di lei, ma si sa, l'amore è cieco (e pure sordo).

La storia non è male (tutti quei salti nel tempo complicano le cose al punto giusto), ma il punto è che sappiamo che la Kenyon sa fare di meglio. Se confrontiamo il libro precedente sui Were-Hunter, quello su Vane, non c'è paragone che tenga: Il gioco della notte era di un altro livello, un livello decisamente superiore. ( )

En Nueva Orleans se va a desatar un poder letal. Solo el amor podrá evitar una destrucción sin precedentes. Se trata de dos personajes antagónicos: Marguerite es la hermosa y obediente hija de un senador; Wren es un joven huraño y taciturno que trabaja en un bar y posee unos terribles poderes que lo han condenado a la soledad. Cuando ambos chicos se conocen, entre ellos surge una irrefrenable atracción que los unirá en una causa común: demostrar que Wren no asesinó a sus padres biológicos.

In a series that has been rather hit and miss with me, Unleash the Night was definitely one of the better Dark-Hunter installments, but still didn't quite make it to the front of the pack. I fell for the hero, Wren, from the moment he first appeared (in fact, I'd already been intrigued by him from his brief appearances in past books), and Maggie was a really sweet wonderful heroine too. The first half of the book really sucked me in and kept me reading as Wren and Maggie's relationship developed and I learned more about Wren's backstory. Unfortunately, the story began to falter a bit for me around the halfway point right after Maggie finds out the truth about Wren. Then it felt like their romance kind of got put on the back burner as they try to prove Wren's innocence in the murder of his parents twenty years earlier, which involved some semi-confusing time travel and action sequences. Once they went back in time, Wren and Maggie and their romantic interactions started to loose some luster for me. After giving it some thought, I believe this was owing to them overcoming their problems a little too easily. There never was a great deal of conflict in their relationship to begin with. The only thing really keeping them apart was the fact that he was a Were-Hunter and she was a human. This issue was magically solved in an instant and in a way that I cannot reveal without giving away spoilers, but suffice it say that I had a hard time buying into the ease with which Maggie was able to accept and master these changes. Also, I felt like the character development suddenly came to a halt. The couple previously had been quite fascinating with their flaws, particularly Wren, and then almost instantaneously everything was all wine and roses as they discovered an immediate newfound confidence in themselves and Wren found out that some things he had previously believed weren't true. These rapid turnarounds just left the characters and the remainder of their story rather prosaic in comparison to the promise shown in the first half.

Wren was a hero who was very easy to love. It was apparent right from the beginning that he was a tortured and misunderstood soul who was desperately in need of some lovin'. Because of being an animal hybrid, Wren was rejected by his parents, particularly his mother, and then had to deal with their murders. He grew up almost completely alone except for Marvin, his monkey companion. Even at Sanctuary, where he was supposed to be protected, Wren was still an outcast, mistrusted for being different. He hid behind a temperamental nature which caused him to often lash out at others, but inside he was gentle and vulnerable. When Maggie comes along, she speaks to that part of him and tames him with her kindness. I love how he can be so sweet and thoughtful in spite of his innate animal nature, and how he can in turn kiss Maggie both tenderly and fiercely. Wren is also a virgin, one of my favorite kinds of romance heroes, but here his inexperience is treated somewhat differently. Most virgin heroes I've encountered are a little unsure of themselves, and while Wren was to some small degree, his animal instincts simply took over making him an almost unbelievably fabulous lover right from the start which left me with somewhat mixed feelings.

Maggie was a sweet heroine who was also very likable. She was struggling with having a U.S. Senator for a father and him basically running her life. She feels stuck in a rut with friends she barely even likes and no real romantic prospects, as most guys see her as more of a good friend than a girlfriend. Wren makes her feel so much more than that, and completely desirable as a woman. She was the one gracious person in the midst of her snobbish friends, and I loved how she defended Wren when they decided to taunt him. I also liked that she was very level-headed and intelligent, simply calming herself and putting the pieces of the puzzle together the first time she saw Wren shift. I also greatly respected her for being willing to trust and help Wren even when she knew that he was in terrible danger which would likely put her in danger as well. Maggie was just an all-around nice girl.

One thing that I greatly missed in Unleash the Night was Acheron. He is essentially replaced in this story by Savitar, who is Acheron's equivalent in the world of the Were-Hunters. He is another equally mysterious and omnipotent character who was newly introduced in the last book of the Dark-Hunter series, Sins of the Night. Ash is one of those larger than life characters who runs away with virtually every scene he's in, and never fails to spice up the narrative in some way. I also fell for him the very first time I ever read anything about him, and always look forward to seeing him again. By comparison, Savitar was just OK. He simply didn't capture my imagination in the same way that Ash does, and seemed a little too arrogant and dismissive for my taste. I will admit that there appears to be some potential for building an interesting character in Savitar, so I will try to reserve judgment until I've seen more of him. In the immediate though, he just couldn't fill Ash's shoes for me, and at the moment, I have a hard time seeing myself waiting patiently through many more Dark-Hunter books while waiting for his story like I've done (and am still doing) with Ash.

As far as other supporting players, I did appreciate Sherrilyn Kenyon's usage of a number of previous characters instead of resorting to her penchant for creating dozens of new ones. She even took the time to reveal some new and interesting facts about some of them. Bill Laurens put in what was probably his biggest appearance to date and we get to learn more about his involvement with the Dark-Hunters and Were-Hunters. We also really get to know Mama and Papa Peltier, Nicollette and Aubert, and especially get to see what Mama Bear is truly like, which I have to say surprised me a bit. I'm not quite sure that I like the direction her character took, because it seemed to contradict my previous impressions of her. Aimee and Fang (Bad Moon Rising) are in the beginning stages of their “impossible” love, and I'll be interested to see how that resolves. Both Wren and Maggie were friends with Nick which I thought was neat. He has one brief scene at the end of the book, but is still essentially in hiding after the events of Seize the Night. Other past and future characters with their own stories who also put in appearances in Unleash the Night include: Julian (Fantasy Lover), Kyrian (Night Pleasures), Vane (Night Play), Fury (Shadow of the Moon from Dead After Dark), Dante (Winter Born from Stroke of Midnight), Sebastian (Dragonswan), and Dev (No Mercy).

Even though I thought that the plot could have been a little better developed to hold onto some of the edginess of the characters and complexities of their relationship, at the same time I generally enjoyed both Wren and Maggie and their story. It would have simply been impossible not to love them in my opinion. I'm not sure if all editions of Unleash the Night have it, but my copy features the first Dark-Hunter glossary I've seen in the back. I actually found it to be helpful in refreshing my memory on various characters and their abilities as well as general terms, and will probably reference it often in the future. Unleash the Night is book #8 in the Dark-Hunter series. There are currently a total of 19 full-length novels in the series and quite a number of related novellas and graphic novels as well, with more still to come (#20 is due for release in Aug. 2011). A complete list of all the books and their recommended reading order can be found on Sherrilyn Kenyon's website. ( )

Everyone gives Wren Tigarian a wide berth. He’s quiet, aloof and downright anti-social. Most people thinks he is volatile and unstable. Even he doesn’t trust himself given his family history of his parents killing each other violently. He believes himself to be an abomination because he is a Katagaria Were-Hunter mix between tiger and leopard and half-breeds just aren’t acceptable in the Were-Hunter world. He keeps everyone at a distance by being standoffish and unfriendly. He likes fading into the background so no one notices him and his only friend is a tiny spider monkey named Marvin.

He showed up at Sanctuary twenty years ago and the Peltier family took him in but he knows Mama Bear, Nicolette, really doesn’t want him there. She hates him because she believes he is a threat to her family and to Sanctuary. She has been fed lies by Wren’s cousin and uncle who want Wren’s fortune. When Wren starts hanging around a human female, the daughter of a state senator, Nicolette plots to get rid of him permanently. She thinks that he has become unstable and by hanging out with Margarite, it will expose the Were-Hunters to the human world. She calls for the Omegrion to tell them they have a Slayer on their hands.

I have to say that I think Nicolette is a vicious shrew. I wasn’t sure what to think of the brief glimpses of her in the other books, how she seemed a bit caustic, but I chalked that up to being protective of her children yet I still wasn’t sure I like her. Now, I’m sure I don’t like her. I get that she lost two children because of the ongoing hatred between Arcadians and Katagaria and she has issues with anyone who is a threat to her remaining family but to find out she actually hates having to give refuge to others when she is the one who set up Sanctuary just makes me think of her as cold and uncaring. When she slapped Aimee, her only daughter, for disagreeing with her, I instantly put Nicolette in the I-can’t-stand-this-bitch category.

Margarite is the daughter of a state senator. She was good friends with Nick Gautier before he disappeared and misses him. Nick disappeared after his mother was brutally murdered. The police think he had something to do with it but Margarite thinks it is more likely that Nick went after the killer and ended up dead himself. All her other friends are rich and snobby and she doesn’t feel like she fits in with them.

They all went to college with Nick and had a study group at his house a few nights a week. As a farewell salute to Nick, they decide to go to Sanctuary where Nick’s mom worked and he hung out. They believe it is a biker bar and don’t know that it a neutral zone for all things paranormal. As usual, her friends are being snobbish and rude to the employees at the bar but she is determined to have a good time anyway.

Margarite feels someone staring at her and looks around. She sees the busboy with a monkey on his shoulder staring at her…she thinks...but it is hard to tell with his blonde dreadlocks hanging in his face. When he comes over to take her empty glass away, her friend Blaine gets rude and throws his beer in the busboys face. The busboy immediately goes to attack Blaine but four huge men pull him away. Aimee, the waitress, kicks them all out. Margarite stays behind to see how the busboy is doing and to apologize to him.

Wren works as a busboy for Sanctuary but he is far from poor. His father founded Tigarian Technologies, second only to Microsoft in technology and earnings. He owns 52% of the stock in the company but has little to do with the company itself. When he sees Margarite, he immediately has a weird attraction to her. It’s “weird” because he never is attracted to anyone, especially a human. After her friend throws his beer in his face, he is pissed off. He hates having anything splashed in his face. It was nice of the girl to apologize though.

After Margarite leaves, Wren gets a strange feeling that she is in danger so he flashes outside the bar and finds her surrounded by four muggers. He rescues her but gets shot in the shoulder in the process. Margarite knew the gun went off but had no idea he had been shot. He holds human form, a difficult feat for any Katagaria to do when they are in pain, and takes Margarite home.

Wren knows he shouldn’t be around Margarite, not only because she is human and the daughter of a senator but because he has enemies and he can’t even trust himself not to turn violent and hurt her but he can’t help himself. He likes her and she is the only one who keeps him calm. They start getting close. This is when Nicolette Peltier starts plotting against him.

Nicolette calls the Omegrion together and along with the testimony of his cousin, Zack, who tells the council that Wren killed his parents gets the council to vote for a blood hunt of Wren Tigarian. This is a death sentence.

Wren barely makes it out of Sanctuary alive after the Omegrion assassins try to kill him. With nowhere else to go, he ends up at Margarite’s door. She lets him in but is shocked when he falls to the floor and turns into a tigard. Before he lost consciousness, he told her he was being hunted and not to call the police or ambulance. She tries to take care of him the best she can. He wakes up four days later and tells her that the people after him will use her to get to him.

Now, they have to figure out a way to prove him innocent or he will die.

There were some clever plot twists in this book and Sherrilyn Kenyon dug deeper into some of the character’s lives and personalities of the series.

There has been an ongoing story of Aimee and Fang since book #5, Night Play. Aimee is a Were-Hunter bear, the only daughter out of twelve of Nicolette and Aubert Peltier who started and own the Sanctuary. After Fang, a Were-Hunter wolf, was almost killed by Daimons and went into a comatose state, Aimee helped him get back on his feet and heal. Wren has caught them kissing but has kept it a secret because he knows Aimee’s family would never allow it and would probably kill Fang if they found out. Matters just got worse in this book because Fang pretended to use Aimee as a hostage so he could save Wren from being killed by Aimee’s family. Does anyone else see a book starring Aimee and Fang in the near future?

We get a closer look at Savitar, the mysterious gorgeous and a lot scary man who mediates the Omegrion. He has mega powers and doesn’t seem to care about the gods or their wrath. He does what he wants which is usually surfing and catching “the big wave”. Everyone is afraid of him and he has openly admits he loves no one and straddles the fence of good and evil. But I think he is more good than evil. He is supposed to be training Nick as a Dark-Hunter but so far just takes him out surfing. Savitar is all-knowing so he probably has a plan for Nick even though it doesn’t seem like it now.

The one person missing from this story was Acheron. So far, he has made an appearance in all of the books so it was odd that he wasn’t in this one.

Overall, I enjoyed this book the second time around probably as much as much as the first time I read it.

Terms and character profiles to help with this summary

Were-Hunter – A long time ago, a king with the help of a god did magickal experiments on animals of prey and Apollites to save his sons from the Apollite curse of dying when they reach the age of 27 which resulted in humans and animals to shift into each form. There are two kinds of Were-Hunters, Arcadian and Katagaria. The gods cursed them to hate each other so they always fight between the two races.

Arcadian – Were-Hunters who are born human but can shift into animal form when they reach puberty and unlock their magickal powers. Arcadians believe they are superior to Katagaria because they are more human. When they sleep, they retain the natural form of a human.
Arcadian Sentinel – soldiers, chosen by the Fates, who hunt down

Slayers. Only a few are born to each patria. A Sentinel knows he or she has been chosen because when they reach maturity, geometrical shapes appear and cover one side of their face. Many choose to use their magick to hide the markings to blend in with humans and so other Weres don’t know what they are..

Katagaria – are animal hearted Were-Hunters who are born in animal form and able to transform into human form when they reach puberty and unlock their magickal powers. When they sleep, they retain their natural form of an animal.

Slayer - Katagaria who are lost to their animal impulses and attack Arcadians. More violent and vicious Slayers are referred to as True Slayers. Slayers and True Slayers are hunted down by Sentinels. Even other Katagaria look down upon Slayers.

Note: When Were-Hunters have mixed parentage, an Arcadian mother and a Katagaria father or vice-versa, they can be born either as Arcadian or Katagaria. It is rare but a Katagaria can be born in human form so they are thought to be Arcadian but when they reach puberty, their true or natural form will turn out to be their animal.

Metriazo Collar – a collar that Were-Hunter, usually Arcadians, use to dampen the magickal powers of a Were-Hunter. Electrical pulses are sent from the collar into the body of the wearer which keep them from shifting shapes and keeps them in a weakened state. The collar can only we taken off by magick or extreme strength.

Mating – Were-Hunters do not get to choose their own mates. The Fates choose them and the Fates often seem to be cruel about it. Were-Hunters have to have sex in order to find their mate and when they are assigned their mate, matching tribal or geometrical designs are burned into their skin (usually on the palms of their hands but not always). Once the mark appears, the couple has three weeks to complete a mating ritual or the male is rendered impotent for as long as the female is alive. The female can have sex with others but will never have children. Even if they complete the ritual, the male can only have sex with his mate.

Bonded Mates – a mated couple can choose to complete a binding ritual which will tie them together forever. If one dies, the other one dies.

Sanctuary – a neutral zone for all things paranormal. Nicolette and Aubert Peltier aka Mama and Papa Bear set up Sanctuary after two of their cubs were killed by Arcadian Sentinels. Anyone is welcome at the bar even Daimons as long as no one gets violent or sheds blood on the premises. It is also imperative that nobody exposes the paranormal world to the humans who frequent the bar. To humans, Sanctuary is a popular biker bar and attraction in New Orleans.

Omegrion – is the ruling council of the Were-Hunters. One representative from each patria of both Katagaria and Arcadian sit on the council and have a vote. The Omegrion is responsible for setting and keeping the laws of the Were-Hunters. The members also are responsible for punishment of Were-Hunters and call for a blood hunt for any who are deemed a threat.

The Omegrion meet on the Savitar’s moving island of Neratiti. Savitar is the mediator to the Omegrion and nobody messes with Savitar. A glaring reminder of that is the empty seat where the Arcadian jaguar representative used to sit. After pissing Savitar off, Savitar destroyed all of the Arcadian jaguars. There are none left so the seat on the council remains empty.

Characters

Acheron – main character of the Dark-Hunter series. He has lots of secrets and until you get to the book named Acheron, he is shrouded in mystery. He was the first Dark-Hunter ever and is over 11,000 years old. We know he is the son of Apollymi, the Atlantean goddess and he has unimaginable powers but he hides most of them and erases anyone’s minds of any events that have revealed powers that he doesn’t want anyone to know he has. He oozes sexuality and danger and nobody but a madman would mess with him.

www.paranormalromanceslut.com ( )

One of the more interesting storylines. Wren's a favorite. ( )